Monday’s Pen to Paper: Get Inspired
My daughter and I are going to be taking a writing class together at the Hugo House, a community writing space in Seattle. (We are both working on Young Adult Novels.) Simply the act of scheduling the class has inspired me.
With my 2013-14 basketball season coming to an end (I still have the last couple of basketball games to stat, a sports banquet to organize, and spring b-ball plans and summer camp to finalize) I have a little more time to write, but with a class on the horizon, I feel a fire to get working.
My daughter started having her boyfriend read her work, which has helped her to write more often so that she has new pages to give him. My friend Jenny and I are planning a writing retreat to get away for a weekend and focus on the page. Try something different to get inspired.
Write on!!!
WRITING PROMPT Opt #1: Write about what inspires you.
WRITING PROMPT Opt #2: Beth stood at the top of the mountain…
It’s time for March Madness!!!
It’s February 28th and you know what that means…it’s time for March Madness (although since I coach high school basketball, I got an early start with a little February playoff madness ). When the College chaos begins, our family prints out brackets, and then each person fills in their bracket and the winner gets, or is supposed to get (I’ve been left with a sore back before), a massage. Massage or no massage, the fun is really following those teams you’ve chosen to support and watch the mayhem, because like I tell girls (the ones I coach) anything can happen in the playoffs.
Enjoy the Madness!!!
And while your in the spirit, go to www.peacelovebasketball.com and get 20% off your order March 1st-March 31st. Discount code GCUJ95KUMXRW
Monday’s Pen to Paper: History
The first time I wrote my backward history I cried. I also smiled. This simple writing prompt can pull unique and forgotten thoughts from the past.
That was nearly 20 years ago, my life has changed drastically since then. Husband, dogs, kids, jobs, life. It might be time for another stab at it.
WRITING PROMPT: Start with a description of you today. (stick to 1 or 2 lines) then below it write “Before that I…”, and continue from there.
Example:
-I am a mother of teenagers, a wife, a high school basketball coach, a writer/author, a poop scooper for two beautiful boxer dogs and a bad housekeeper.
-Before that I was a volunteer coach, a classroom helper, a mom of a gradeschooler and a middleschooler, a slave to the house, a dog walker, a writer, and an avid hoopster.
-Before that I was a decent house keeper, a fashion model, someone that wrote, a wife, a new mom, a woman searching, dabbling in yoga and Buddism, and an athlete.
-Before that I…
You get the picture. Now grab your pen, or your computer, and start writing…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: No Regrets
I don’t yell much at the players that I coach, but sometimes it’s necessary. We are in the middle of District Playoffs and after my recent pre-practice talk on No Regrets and being intense in practice, I had two girls walk to our first drill. I was not happy.
I blew the whistle and went “old school.”
“On the baseline!” I yelled. “A set of lines!”
The first set of lines was ugly. The girls finished and then trotted to grab some balls for Scramble Passing. I snapped. In the past my daughter, who is one of my players, has told me that when I raise my voice and get after them in practice she smiles on the inside because she knows me well enough to know that I’m not really mad, that I’m just trying to pick up the energy in practice. This time I was mad.
“On…the…line!”
I got after a couple of players. My blood boiled. They have all worked too hard to let their dreams die without a fight.
Part of me wanted to keep going with more lines. I’ve seen it done before, even been that person on the line running, tired and angry. Fired up. But two lines was enough and we finished our practice with more intensity.
Part of sports, and part of life, is learning to push yourself when things are tough. We have a sign inside our locker room door that reads LEAVE IT ALL ON THE COURT, because if you do that, give every once of energy when you are on the basketball court or toward a goal in life, win or lose you can have no regrets.
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
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PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: I Like You Team Building
Last week we did “I Like You” team building. It’s simple yet powerful. I hand out papers to the team that have a couple of quotes about teamwork at the bottom and at the top they have a blank space and then “I like you…”. Each player gets an “I like you” paper for each teammate. (ex: If you have a team of ten, each player gets nine papers). Next the players write each of their teammates names on an I like you paper. Then the fun begins.
I ask the players to write down things that they like about their teammates. First-timers to this activity often take a while to get going but players that have done it before grab their papers and spread out around the locker room or court and get to work.
“Sarah I like […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Alive With Music
Yesterday I noticed that there was a free concert at the library in our neighborhood. The Ladies Musical Club of Seattle was performing. Two sopranos were singing Mendelssohn and a pianist and violinist were playing Schubert and Brahms. I had to go.
Now I’m not a huge fan of classical music, but I enjoy it. When I was young I was in choir and my mom was always singing in a choir, so I have some appreciation, and though I couldn’t convince anyone else in my family to go, I made my way to the concert.
I sunk into my chair and listened, and when I closed my eyes it was difficult not to cry. It wasn’t that I was holding back tears of sadness, it was just that emotions were stirring inside me. Thoughts […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: Finding Focus
I have homework due…yesterday. I’m not sure if the fact that it isn’t finished yet is because basketball consumes me this time of year, or if I’m simply avoiding getting to the real work on my young adult novel. Writing is a lot of fun, but it is hard work too. And writing a synopsis goes into the hard work category for me.
Today however, between picking up new basketballs at Baden Sports and getting a new score book for the JVC squad (whose game I will be coaching as well as the varsity game today) and coaching two games, I will make myself take a few moments to breathe and focus on my writing.
WRITING PROMPT #1: Take a moment to sit and breathe. Why do you write? What do you want to achieve with your writing? What stories are inside you? Write a list of your thoughts on writing.
WRITING PROMPT #2: […]
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